Judith Butler’s achievements

Judith Butler, poststructuralist philosopher, queer theorist, feminist philosopher, professor of rhetoric and comparative literature, social activist, lesbian, Hungarian and Descendants of Russians, Jewish Americans. Butler is familiar with modern European philosophy, such as Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, phenomenology, Kierkegaard, Merleau-Ponty and the Frankfurt School. His doctoral thesis was completed under the guidance of a phenomenology professor. During his subsequent study tours, Butler experienced a key shift, here appropriately named the post-structuralism turn—especially the "Foucault turn." The focus on subject issues has shifted to the consideration and even subversion of gender identity, which can also be regarded as the theoretical opportunity for the creation of his famous work "Gender Trouble".

Throughout Butler's works, one can see that his theoretical resources are like a kaleidoscope, which is overwhelming. Coupled with the obscurity and complexity of his own language, understanding such a thinker is like climbing Deleuze's "A Thousand Plateaus", with the foot of the mountain treacherous. It is nowhere to be found, just mountains and mountains, making it daunting.

In a sense, Butler has changed the way we think about gender. Even if this change has not yet been reflected in "Everyday Use", it at least provides us with an alternative in theory. Perspectives allow us to re-examine the concepts and ideas we take for granted, and allow us to recognize the oppressive forces hidden behind seemingly neutral and natural ideas. Butler believes that the so-called philosophy is to question those propositions that we think are natural and self-evident, and then discover the power relationships hidden behind these propositions, thereby providing opportunities for human struggle and liberation.

Although Butler has many identities, as Foucault claimed - she changes her face through writing and is unwilling to admit her identity, she is undoubtedly willing to accept criticism as an intellectual. The so-called criticism is to reject all so-called given concepts, reject the premises and ideas we are accustomed to, and then discover the free possibilities and plurality of subversion that this rejection may have. Denaturalization, this is philosophical criticism. The work of a critical intellectual is inevitably political, because it involves working with difficult texts to inspire the reader to question the world he or she thinks he or she understands.

From the perspective of Chinese academic circles, the reception of Butler mainly focuses on translation and introduction, with particular attention to the "body": "Post-Body: Culture, Power and "Biopolitics" excerpts the chapter of the same name from the first part of "There is a So-called Body"; "Cultural Studies Essential Readers" compiled by Tao Dongfeng and "Cultural Studies Selected Readings" edited by Wang Fengzhen et al. respectively translate and excerpt the introduction of the book part. "Gender Politics" edited by Wang Fengzhen has selected and translated Butler's "Temporary Foundation", "Post-Marxism" edited by Zhou Fan has included the article "Poststructuralism and Post-Marxism", and "Queer Theory" compiled by Li Yinhe ” is included in “Imitation and Gender Resistance”, but a systematic and reliable translation is still lacking. The book "Contingency, Hegemony and Universality" (Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 2004) (co-authored by Zizek, Laclau and Butler) translated by Hu Daping is included in the collection of Zizek's works. As for research, there is no monograph yet. The paper focuses on the introduction and combing of Butler's gender theory, and mainly focuses on two early books on gender theory - "Gender Trouble" (1990) and "There is a So-Called Body" (1993), turning a blind eye to his later ideological changes.